High-dose B-vitamin supplements and risk for age-related cataract: a population-based prospective study of men and women.

Previous studies that have investigated the association between B-vitamin supplement use and risk for cataract yield conflicting results. The aim of this study was to examine the association between use of high-dose B-vitamin supplements (approximately 10 times recommended daily intake) and risk for age-related cataract in a population-based prospective study of 13 757 women from the Swedish Mammography Cohort and 22 823 men from the Cohort of Swedish Men. Dietary supplement use and potential confounders were assessed using a questionnaire at baseline.

Are increased levels of systemic oxidative stress and inflammation associated with age-related cataract?

Oxidative stress and inflammation may be involved in the etiology of age-related cataract. This study is the first to investigate the association between urinary levels of 8-iso-prostaglandin F₂α (PGF₂α; as a biomarker for systemic oxidative stress in vivo) and 15-keto-dihydro-PGF₂α (as a biomarker for systemic inflammation in vivo) and risk of age-related cataract. We observed in a nested case-control study, including 258 women with incident cataract diagnosis and/or cataract extraction and 258 women without cataract, matched on age and date of urine sample collection that, women with higher levels of urinary 8-iso-PGF₂α as compared with lower levels had an increased risk of age-related cataract.